


Fighting for Love

by Punzel23



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Melendaire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:48:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27967817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Punzel23/pseuds/Punzel23
Summary: Neil survived an earthquake, but Claire contracts Covid.
Relationships: Claire Browne/Neil Melendez
Comments: 20
Kudos: 52





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not going to lie... this is in part a total rip off of Greys Anatomy (although I haven't seen anything more than the Merideth/Derrick clip and the one of Richard discussing a ventilator with her). It was a side story I started working on in between the other one that is currently in proggress. Hope you enjoy it.

Claire was exhausted. She had pushed herself and pushed herself just as everyone else had over the past few weeks. Nothing seemed to be getting better though. It was only a few weeks ago she had admitted to her therapist that she was in love with her boss. Just afterwards there was an earthquake where Neil was almost injured and then a couple days later was when the Covid cases started to hit. Everything has been chaos since. 

Walking to her car after her shift at the hospital she felt drained, and short of breath. Suddenly, she passed out. Park happened to not be far behind her when it happened. He ran as fast as he could. “Claire!” he called out as he ran over to check her pulse. 

“Get me a stretcher!” he yelled to anyone that could hear. One of the nurses that was also behind them ran inside to the ER. Dr. Lim was headed out with her bag when she heard the commotion.

“What’s going on?” she asked

“Dr. Browne passed out in the parking lot, they’re bringing her in now” the nurse responded.

“She feels warm, but not hot.” Park advised as they rolled her in.

“What happened? Lim asked concerned.

“I was walking behind her and suddenly she went down.” Park stated as they wheeled her to an ER bay. 

“Do a Covid test on her and a blood panel right away” Dr. Lim instructed as she sat her bag down.

“It can’t be covid, can it? We’ve all been very careful” Alex said

“We don’t know, but to be cautious do the test.” Dr. Lim instructed.

“I don’t want the covid test” Claire protest.

“You need one” Park replies

“No. I’m fine. I don’t need one and I’m not taking one from people who actually need one. We’re already low on supplies” she argues

Park sighs, “I’ll talk to Lim.”

Neil had just taken a shower and sat down with a sandwich when his phone rang. “Ugh” he groaned dreading it when he saw Audrey’s name come up knowing he must be needed at the hospital. 

“Melendez” he answers

“Hey, I hate to bother you but I need a consult” Audrey says.

“Isn’t Rogers on call tonight?” he asks rubbing his eyes. He isn’t one to normally pass off duties but he was exhausted from the non-stop of the last few weeks. First the earthquake, which they got through and then a couple days later the covid patients started.

“He is” she answers with a pause

“Can’t he do it?” Neil asks

“It’s Browne” she explains and the phone goes silent

“What happened?” he asks getting up to grab his shoes

“She was headed out in the parking lot and passed out. Dr. Park was just behind her and saw it”

“I’ll be right in” he replies as he grabs his keys to head out the door.

He makes it to the hospital in record time and is outside Claire’s room meeting Audrey and Park. 

“She refused the covid test,” Audrey tells him.

“How is she feeling? Any body aches, or increased fatigue?” he asks looking at her chart.

Claire looks out the window of the room where she can see them talking. 

“I’m right here, you can just ask me yourself” she yells out frustrated.

Neil holds back a smile, her actions shouldn’t make him want to laugh but it does because he understands them.

“Dr. Browne” he says entering the room. “How are you feeling?” he asks putting the stethoscope on to listen to her heart and lungs.

“I’m fine. I’m fine. It’s just been crazy and it caught up to me” she says

“Deep Breaths” he instructs

“Any aches? Fatigue?” he asks as he feels the glands on her neck

“I’ve been on my feet for 36 hours of course I have aches and fatigue” she replies

“I know you’re tired and frustrated Claire, but you’ve got to work with us to help you” Audrey chimes in to help keep the resident in check.

“I’m sorry. It’s been a long day. I appreciate the concern but I’m ok” Claire replies.

“Let’s get an MRI” Neil instructs as he sees Claire roll her eyes. 

“I’ll do the MRI; you guys need to get some rest,” he says looking at Lim and Park. “We’ve got a hospital full of patients that need us and more to come so we have to find a way to balance the load” he replies in response to the looks they give him.

“Ok, let me know the updates,” Lim says looking from Neil to Claire.

“I feel fine. I do. There are patients waiting that could use this bed. I’ll go home and quarantine to be safe.” Claire tells him after Lim and Park leave.

“Doctor without the head injury makes the call” he smirks repeating the line she said to him when he was in the ambulance.

“You’re impossible” she replies

“Hey, you ran me through a battery of test,” he says as he carefully watches her to try and tell if she is having trouble with her breathing

“So, this is payback” she crosses her arms “and if I recall correctly, which I do, you fought me the entire time”

“But I still did it” he replies

“This is different. There are sick people waiting to be seen” she argues

“Uh, there was during an earthquake too” he says, “listen, you’re not going to win this so just cooperate” he smiles and she can tell even with his mask on.

“Fine” she tosses her head back.

“I’m going to go get the MRI scheduled. They were a little backed up but we’ll do it as fast as we can” he says patting her hand.

“Thank you” she replies giving in.

“Two hours? Seriously?” Neil asks as he tries to schedule the MRI. He even called because of the wait showing when trying to schedule electronically. He took a deep breath. She would just have to wait. In the meantime he would check on some other patients to avoid her questioning him and getting mad.

An hour and a half later he gets a page from Claire’s nurse. He first passes it off, Claire had texted him twice about when the MRI was scheduled and he thought that she now decided to have the nurse page him to ask. Ten minutes later he gets another page and heads to the floor where Claire is, she obviously isn’t giving up. At least now they only have twenty minutes until her MRI.

He heads to the floor she’s on and comes off the elevator when he sees the nurse who has a very worried look on her face.

“What happened?” he asked feeling panicked

“Dr. Browne was feeling fine and she had gotten up out of her bed to stretch her legs, then all of the sudden I heard something and she was on the floor unconscious” the nurse replies

Neil starts to quickly head towards her room and the nurse follows.

“She’s conscious now, but we’ve told her she has to stay in the bed” she explains trying to keep up with him.

He walks into the room and sees Claire with an oxygen mask on.

“I was fine” she explains pulling the oxygen mask back so that she can talk. “I was stretching my legs” she tries to explain and Neil puts the mask back on her face.

“We’re going to do your MRI,” he says as the nurse pushes in a wheelchair.

“I can walk” Claire protest

“How far did you get stretching your legs?” Neil asks annoyed

“Fine” she huffs

The trip to get the MRI is quiet. Claire feels like she has definitely overstepped her bounds with complaining. 

“Somebody told me once doctors make the worst patients,” she says as they get into the MRI lab.

“They sound smart” he smiles as he helps her onto the table before heading into the other room to start the test.

“You know, if you wanted to get out of that run tomorrow you didn’t have to put on a show” he chuckles as he starts the MRI on Claire.

“Ha” she begins but he interrupts her-

“Be still” he comments, taking his finger off the mic to chuckle at being able to cut her off.

He waits for the results to come up on the screen and feels guilty he didn’t get her in sooner for this test


	2. Chapter 2

He waits for the results to come up on the screen and feels guilty he didn’t get her in sooner for this test.

“Sh*t” he mutters to himself as the scan of her lungs comes up.

Claire feels the machine move her back out

“Stay there, I’ll be right in” Neil says as he forwards the scans.

“So?” she asks as she sits up

“So?” he echoes back

“This was for nothing wasn’t it? You owe me breakfast” she jokes as he helps her get into the wheelchair.

“So can I go now?” she asks as they get to her room.

He’s never had a problem getting facts out to his patients. After all, the situation is what it is. This time, it’s different.

“Neil?” she questions, “Dr. Melendez, hello?” she rephrases

“I’ve got to review these scans before I know” he deflects and pretends to check a page on his phone.

Claire sighs, she’s not going to fight him, she knows it won’t do any good.

He goes to his office to review the scans again and does some research on where to go from here. A short time later Audrey comes in and knocks as she enters his office.

“How’s Browne?” she asks

He sighs and hands her the scan.

“Oh man” she says furrowing her brows.

“Yeah” he replies

“We both know when a patients lung starts to look like this they could turn at any moment.” She tells him

“Yeah. She’s got to stay here. She’ll fight it but there’s no choice” he replies

“Are you ok taking this on?” Audrey asks

“Yes. I’ve handled covid patients for weeks now” he replies as if her insinuation is ridiculous

“They weren’t her. Maybe I should have Andrews take her case over” she offers

“That’s ridiculous. I’m a cardiothoracic surgeon, I’m the best option for her care” he shoots back.

“Ok, but if at some point, you can’t be objective I need you to come to me” Audrey replies.

“Understood” Neil says flatly.

Shaun and Park come in to the lounge and Melendez explains the situation. They all head to Claire’s room with Audrey.

“What?” Claire asks nervously seeing all of them.

“We’ve reviewed the scans on your lungs, and you’ve contracted covid. It’s important that we keep you here. There’s some treatments that have been showing promise” Neil explains.

“You’ll need to have a Power of Attorney in case you can’t make medical decisions” Shaun chimes in.

Neil clenches his teeth and holds his breath without realizing it.

“I um..” Claire stammers feeling overwhelmed.

“Murphy” Neil turns and Audrey starts to speak up before Claire looks at them.

“I’ll sign a DNR, I don’t want a ventilator” she says catching the others off guard.

“You need to think about this” Neil says trying to remain objective.

“Just give it some time Claire, get some rest and then we can talk about it” Audrey says as she ushers everyone out.

In the hall, once out of Claire’s earshot she turns to them all. “I realize this hits home for us all. I need you to stay focused. We have a lot of patients who need us. Understood?” They nod in unison. 

Claire lays back in the bed and a tear falls. She feels scared and she feels lonely. Of course, life would wind up like this, a cruel twist of fate. 

Her chest feels like an elephant is on it and the anxiety of what is going on doesn’t help. An alarm in the room goes off signaling her oxygen is low. Neil hears it from the nurses’ station where he was standing and runs into the room. He gets the oxygen mask and puts it on her, propping her up some on the bed. She looks tired and weak.

Claire falls asleep and, in her dream, she’s standing on a hilltop over looking the city. 

“It’s beautiful” she says looking out.

“It is” a familiar voice says from behind her as strong arms wrap around her waist

She turns her head and sees Neil.

He leans down and kisses her lips. “I’m so happy we did this” he says and she looks down to see she’s in a white gown and he in a tux.

She laughs, looking down at her hand and seeing a wedding ring.

“We’re married” she says in a whisper

“We are” he says proudly before asking “May I have this dance?”

She laughs and obliges. Reveling in being held in his arms. “I want to just stay here forever, just like this” she says resting her head on his shoulder.

A moment later she starts to cough and steps back, “I..” she begins as the coughing continues and she sees a worried look on his face.

Looking back up Neil is no longer there, but she sees her mom. 

“Mom?” she asks confused.

Breeze Browne comes closer, “Baby I told you no one would ever love you but me” she says stopping a few feet away.

“No, what happened” Claire asks

“He left. Just like everybody else. It’s you and me baby, always” Breeze tells her.

“Come on” Breeze says holding out her hand.

“No, I don’t want to” Claire says adamantly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little longer, there should have been a little more to the previous chapter. I hope you guys like it, thank you again so much for your comments! They mean the world :)!

Suddenly Claire wakes up, and she feels like she’s gasping for air. Neil is at the doorway talking to Park and quickly goes to her bedside. 

“You’re ok. You’re ok. Calm down” he says patting her arm.

She’s visibly upset, Park comes over and has her lean forward as he taps on her back to offer some relief which seems to help.

Neil watches feeling helpless.

“My son has asthma and this helps him” Park explains. “Let me show you” he says showing Neil what he’s doing.

“Thank you,” Claire says leaning back again. “That helped” she smiles.

Audrey comes to the door and motions for Neil.

“How is she?” Audrey asks

“Not good” Neil admits and she can see the despair in his face.

“We have to find out about her Power of Attorney,” she tells him. “I can do it if you need me to” she offers.

“I’ll take care of it.” He replies.  
“Neil, say what you want but she means something to you. I think that maybe you should step back” she says as she tries to be as understanding as she can.

“I’ve got it” he answers as he notices Shaun go into the room he turns to follow.

“How are you feeling,” Shaun asks

“Peachy” Claire replies

“You are being sarcastic” Shaun says worried

Claire shrugs.

Neil comes into the room like a watchdog trying to monitor Shaun.

“I don’t want a ventilator,” She tells him knowing he was just talking to Dr. Lim.

“Most people don’t come off them anyway,” Shaun says chiming in.

Neil clenches his fist and holds it tightly beside him before releasing it slowly trying to calm himself.

“Some people do though” Neil replies staring Shaun down.

“I should go,” Shaun says sensing the tension in the room.

“I don’t want to be put on a ventilator. We need to save them for people who really need it.” Claire tells Neil.

“We wouldn’t put you on one unless you absolutely need it” Neil replies standing at the end of her bed.

“I’m not taking one that someone could use. There are people with families that love them and depend on them that need it more” she says

Neil holds on to the end of the bed, trying to figure out what to say.

They’re interrupted by Morgan knocking on the door.

  
“How’s the patient?” Morgan asked

Claire gives a thumbs up.

“You’re a fighter,” Morgan tells her

Neil gets a page, “will you be here for a little bit? I need to run downstairs” he asks Morgan.

  
“Sure” she says with a smile before holding up her hands “can’t operate” she jokes.

“You should try and get some rest” Morgan says taking a seat beside the bed.

  
“What if I don’t wake up?” Claire asks in a nervous whisper

“Then Melendez will come in and get you” Morgan replies

Claire laughs as she starts to cry at the same time.

“Hey” Morgan pats her arm “You’re going to be ok” she tries to assure her. “I’ll be right here to keep an eye on you”

Claire wants to keep her eyes open but they’re so heavy that she gives in.

Morgan can see how labored Claire’s breathing seems to be and it hits her hard just how real the situation is. Despite their ups and downs, Claire is a good person and she doesn't want to see her suffer. 

Neil takes care of his page and then walks out on the balcony outside his office for some air. He wipes the tears in his eyes as he looks out. He’d trade himself for her to be ok. He bows his head and says a prayer. There’s so much he wants to say to her, but questions if it’s fair to say it now. 

Claire lies in the bed, sleeping, and in her dream, she is back on the hilltop. 

“Claire” a voice calls out and she turns to see Kayla.

“Kayla” Claire says with a smile

“I’ve missed you” Kayla says coming closer

“I’ve missed you too” Claire replies

“Things didn’t work out for you and Dash” Kayla shrugs

“No” Claire laughs “They did not. I did try because you asked me to” she tells her.

“That Dr. Melendez though,” Kayla says with a smile

“Don’t. Don’t” Claire shakes her head

“So, you’d be ok with not going back?” Kayla questions

Claire fidgets with her hands avoiding answering

“It’s complicated” Claire finally answers

“You have to decide Claire” Kayla tells her sympathetically

Claire wakes up for a moment and looks over to see Neil in the chair beside her. She looks at the clock on the wall, it was 11pm, had she really been asleep all that time? She still felt so tired.

“How are you feeling?” Neil asked sitting up in the chair

“I’m ok” Claire says as her breaths get harder to take.

He stands so he can listen to her heart and lungs.

“Can you lean forward some?” he asks

She starts to doze off again as he gently leans her back down on the pillow.

She looks weak and it breaks his heart.

“Isn’t your shift over? You need to go get some rest” she tells him in a whisper

“I’m fine right here” he replies

She moves the oxygen mask from her face.

“Thank you, for everything,” she says in a whisper, her breaths difficult to take.

It feels like she is trying to say goodbye and he won’t let her.

“Don’t” he says as he puts the mask back on her face.

He can tell by the look she gives him that she’s frustrated.

She looks up at the ceiling and wipes her eyes.

“I love you,” he says when she looks back at him. “I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but I do and I wish I had been brave enough to tell you before” he explains pausing briefly, “And I know it’s not fair for me to ask, but I need you to keep fighting,” he says as tears fall. 

Tears fall from the corner of Claire’s eye and she reaches for the mask.

“I love you too” she says as she holds his gloved hand.

He pushes back her hair from her face and she closes her eyes as they feel heavier and heavier but she still has a hold of his hand.

He stays there all night, his hand in hers as he moves the chair close the bed so that he can rest his head on the bed.

  
Audrey comes in the next morning and touches his shoulder. 

“You need to go get some rest” she says firmly

“I can’t. I need to stay here” he replies wiping his eyes with one hand.

“It’s not a request” she says “go get a shower and some rest”

Neil slides his hand gently out of Claire’s and leaves. He heads home, exhausted and emotionally drained. He takes a shower and sits down on the bed for a moment. It’s three hours later before he wakes up and realizes in a panic how long he had been asleep. He checks his phone to see if he had missed any calls but there are none.

He heads back into the hospital and sees Audrey at the nurses’ station with Park and Morgan. 

“She’s getting worse. She hasn’t woken up since you left” Audrey tells him.

Neil tries to hold himself together and turns walk to her room.

She looks drained and weak. He walks in and takes her hand.

“Please don’t go. I know it’s selfish but I need you here. I love you” he tells her hoping she can hear his plea. 

Neil authorizes a feeding tube being put in, even though Claire didn’t designate anyone to make medical decisions for her. Audrey knows she needs to explain that this is dangerous territory but also knows Neil isn’t going to hear it. Audrey tells Glassman that if Claire survives, she’s confident she wouldn’t hold the hospital responsible for Melendez’s actions.

It's been another day and he doesn’t leave her side. She still doesn’t wake up but he will be there if she does.

He leaves only to stretch his legs for a few minutes and sees Audrey.

“She’s hanging in there” he tells Audrey.   
“Yeah. She’s weak though.” She replies. “I think you need to tell her it’s ok if she can’t hang on” Audrey says looking at the floor then back at Neil briefly.

“I can’t” he admits

“You have to be fair to her Neil” Audrey says, knowing this is hard on him and trying to sympathize while being realistic.

He doesn’t reply, he just goes back into her room and sits beside the bed where he essentially stays for the next two weeks. 

Lim tries to get him to go home to rest and he refuses. Glassman tries as well and Neil informs him he can hand in his resignation if needed so Glassman backs down. 

It’s the third week before Claire starts to show signs of life again. She wakes up for an hour or so during the day and by the end of the week she’s able to stay up for about half the day.

By the end of the fourth week she’s off the oxygen mask although she’s still weak from being in the bed for so long. Her covid test finally comes back negative allowing them to move her off the floor. Now Neil is able to be in her room with just the mask on.

“We’re going to start physical therapy with you” he tells her as he looks at her most recent chart.

She watches him as he looks over it. When he looks up he sees her.

“What?” he asks

“Nothing” she replies

“Something” he says curiously

“Your hair has gotten longer. It doesn’t seem like I was out that long” she chuckles trying to change the subject. She isn’t sure if she dreamed their confession of love or not and doesn’t know how to bring it up. 

“Lunch will be here soon, I’ve got to go check on a couple patients but I’ll be back up a little later” he explains.

Claire nods, her disappointment in him leaving showing on her face.

He walks over to the side of the bed, cradles her face with his hand. “I love you” he tells her as their foreheads touch.

“I love you too” she replies feeling relieved and ecstatic at the same time that those words weren’t a dream.


End file.
